World Panorama (UPSC) Part-II

Total Questions: 50

21. Which one of the following countries is not a member of the Nordic Council? [2006]

Correct Answer: (d) United Kingdom
Solution:The member of Nordic Council are Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden with the autonomous territories Greenland, Faroe Island and Aland.

The Nordic Council is an official body which facilitates inter-parliamentary cooperation between the Nordic nations of Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Iceland as well as from the autonomous areas of the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and the Åland Islands. Its headquarters is located in Copenhagen, Denmark

The Nordic Council seeks “to provide a forum for consultation among the legislatures and governments of the member-states on matters of common interest”. Cooperation is sought especially in economic, social, cultural, legal, labour and environmental matters.

Structure

The Nordic Council consists of the Plenary Assembly, the Presidium, the Standing Committee and the Secretariat.

The Plenary Assembly is the highest decision-making body and is composed of 87 members elected by national or territorial parliaments. The Assembly meets once a year. The Presidium, consisting of a President and 10 Vice-Presidents (two from each country), is appointed by the Plenary Assembly.

It presides over the Assembly sessions and supervises the Council’s work. The Secretariat, headed by a Secretary-General, looks after the day-to-day administration. There are five Standing Committees; economic, legal, cultural, environmental and social which report to the Assembly on the concerned areas.

22. Which one of the following countries is not a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)? [2006]

Correct Answer: (c) Estonia
Solution:The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization of 10 post-Soviet republics in Eurasia formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. CIS formed when the former Soviet Union (now called Russia) totally dissolved in 1991. At its conception it consisted of ten former Soviet Republics: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

23. Which one of the following countries is not a member of ASEAN? [2006]

Correct Answer: (c) Bangladesh
Solution:The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a regional intergovernmental organization comprising ten countries in Southeast Asia. It aimed primarily at promoting economic growth and regional stability among its members. There are currently 10 member states: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam.

24. Match List-I (Person) with List-II (Organization/Area of Work) and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists: [2006]

List-I (Person/Area of Work)List-II (Organization)
A. Chandra Kochhar1. Advertising
B. Amrita Patel2. Banking
C. Indra Nooyi3. Dairy Development
D. Piyush Pandey4. Pepsi Co
Codes:
ABCD
(a)2143
(b)4321
(c)2341
(d)4123
Correct Answer: (c)
Solution:
List-1 (Person)List-2 (Position/Organization)
Chandra KochharBanking
Amrita PatelDairy Development
Indra NooyiPepsi Co
Piyush PandeyAdvertising

25. Consider the following statements: [2007]

1. North Atlantic Co-operation Council (NACC) is the name of the new organization which has replaced the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

2. The United States of America and the United Kingdom became the members of the NATO when it was formed in the year 1949.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Correct Answer: (b) 2 only
Solution:Twelve countries were part of the founding of NATO: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949.

26. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the code given below the lists: [2007]

List-I (Person)List-II (Position/Organization)
A. Nancy Pelosi1. WTO
B. Margaret Chan2. Speaker, US House of Representatives
C. Pascal Lamy3. WHO
D. Steve Ballmer4. Microsoft
Codes:
ABCD
(a)2134
(b)4312
(c)2314
(d)4132
Correct Answer: (c)
Solution:Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011. Dr Margaret Chan is the Director-General of WHO and was first appointed by the World Health Assembly on 9 November 2006. Dr Chan's current term began on 1 July 2012 and will continue until 30 June 2017. Pascal Lamy is a French political consultant and businessman. He was the Director-General of the World Trade Organization until 1 September 2013. Steven Anthony "Steve" Ballmer is an American businessman who was the chief executive officer of Microsoft from January 2000 to February 2014.

27. With reference to the international meetings held in the year 2006, which of the following pairs is/are correctly matched? [2007]

EventLocation
1. NAM SummitHavana
2. APEC MeetingBangkok
3. EU - India SummitHelsinki
4. UN Climate Change ConferenceGeneva
Correct Answer: (b) 1 and 3 only
Solution:14th Nam Summit was held in Havana(Cuba) from 15-16 September 2006. The 17th EU India summit was held in Helsinkion 13 October 2006. 14th APEC Summit was held on 18-19 November 2006 in Hanoi(Vietnam).
The 2006 United Nations Climate Change Conference took place between November 6 and 17, 2006 in Nairobi, Kenya.

28. Who among the following is Chile's first woman President? [2007]

Correct Answer: (b) M Bachelet
Solution:Michelle Bachelet was the first female president of Chile from 2006 to 2014.In December 2013, Bachelet was re-elected as President of Chile with over 62% of the vote. She is the first person since 1932 to win the presidency of Chile twice in competitive elections.

29. Match List I with List II and select the correct answer using the code given below the lists: [2007]

List-I (Company)List-II (Major Area/Product)
A. Chevron1. Wind energy
B. AT & T2. Oil
C. AMD3. Telephone, internet
D. Enercon GmbH4. Microprocessor

Codes:

ABCD
(a)2143
(b)4321
(c)2341
(d)4123
Correct Answer: (c)
Solution:Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporationand one of the successor companies of Standard Oil headquartered in California. AT and T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation, headquartered at Whitacre Tower in downtown Dallas, Texas. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. is an American worldwide semiconductor company based in Sunnyvale, California, United States, that develops computer processors. Enercon GmbH is the fourth-largest wind turbine manufacturer in the world based in Germany.

30. Which one of the following pairs is not correctly matched? [2007]

Correct Answer: (c) Nicholas Stem : Construction technology
Solution:Nick was appointed as a lecturer in Bioengineering at Southampton University in January 2011.